On 2/3/2017 10:32 AM, Dave Smith wrote:


>
> There was a news story recently about a disabled person not being able
> to have a wheel chair and attendant provided at an airport. A family
> member had dropped off a parent with a mobility issue and assumed that
> the airport of the airline would naturally provide her with a wheelchair
> and personal assistant. Apparently the airport does provide a number of
> wheelchairs, but they were all in use at the time. In my mind, what
> would constitute reasonable accommodation would have been for the
> airport to have ramps or elevators to access different levels, to have
> wide doorways, accessible toilets etc. What would have been reasonable
> for an old and disabled passenger that needs a wheelchair would be to
> bring their own chair and have a friend of family member accompany them
> on the trip.

There are two distinct situation. Wheelchair bound people will take a
chair with them.

There are others (like my wife) that can walk but not long distances.
We make arrangements ahead of time and are met at the ticket counter.
They take her through security and to the plane. If there are stops on
the way we are met at each stop. The airlines do a great job with it.

The only time she needs an assist is at the airport itself. It is not
practical to take a chair on the plane or to carry it around Europe just
to use in an airport. Last time we changed planes in Dublin the other
plane was at the next gate. We had to go from the gate into the
terminal for security and back. Would have taken a few hours for that
distance with rest stops and probably would have missed the flight.

The system may be stressed at times but it has worked for us.